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Radio.Octave, the cat may train you, but I don't think you are going to be able to train the cat; that is just the way it goes with cats. Bottom line: keep the lid closed, and put some kind of cover on it when you are absent. Better yet, lock the music room and forbid it to the cat altogether. A soft, 100% cotton fabric cover is your safest bet to avoid scratching the lid yourself--- and watch out for the thread used to sew the seams: it is often poly (not cotton, even if the cloth is) and putting it on and off, on and off may put some light scratches on the finish. My tech calls them 'dust scratches.' As careful as you can be, it's almost impossible to avoid--- think of it as those little scratches a new car is bound to get, simply from existing. After you get the first couple or three, you stop noticing.

Waxing it every so often with a product intended for piano finishes (Cory's is what my tech likes) can give it a measure of protection.

With five dogs, I have given up, and now keep mine closed, except when I'm recording. It's not too heavy to open (though not lightweight), but there's also moving the piano lamp, the music, the music desk, etc. Those photos of the dust and cat hair in the action are pretty scary! My tech keeps that stuff policed up, but I think minimizing it is worthwhile.

This thread and link will tell you how to post a photo, HalfStep... and I hope you will find something better to share than an action full of animal hair and house dust.

Malkin, I rememberd why your screen name has been nagging at my subconscious--- not that I think this description applies to you, personally:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grimalkin"...A grimalkin (also called a greymalkin) is an old or evil-looking female cat. The term stems from "grey" (the color) plus "malkin", an archaic term for a cat, derived from a... baby-talk... form of the female name, Maud. Scottish legend makes reference to the grimalkin as a faery cat that dwells in the highlands.

"The... name may first come from the 1570 novel, "Beware the Cat" ...by William Baldwin... [Described as 'the first English novel;' still in print as of 1995.] ...a story of talking cats, and part of it relates the story of the Grimalkin's death. According to its editors, the story, and thus the name, originates with Baldwin in terms of being the earliest example known in print. It is also spelled Grimmalkin or Grimolochin.

"...The name grimalkin – and cats in general – became associated with... witchcraft. Women tried as witches in the 16th-18th centuries were often accused of having a familiar, frequently a grimalkin...."

Thanks Jeff, I usually peruse while on my iPad. I'll try to upload from the desktop

Leave the lid down when you're not at home. Your cat will walk around inside the piano, and it's not good for the strings.

You could perhaps try squirting her in the face with a water spray bottle whenever you see her getting up on it. Cats find that pretty aversive.

My cat pretty much leaves my piano alone, but there are times I have to intervene. It's just what you put up with for sharing your household with a pet.

My cat loves water (that's why we named him Phelps) so the squirting won't (and doesn't) work for him. A sharp NO! and a little swat on his backside and he's off. He's also smart and we usually don't have to discipline him more than a couple of times until he learns not to do something.

Thanks all! I'm not to worried about minor scratches, I just would like to avoid major ones (forgive the musical pun, haha). In fact, there are already some little scratches on the piano, probably mostly from me, or from the showroom.

Now, the possibility of corroded strings does bother me. At this point, I'm really leaning towards trying a nice string cover, like the Edwards. It seems to be the least intrusive way or protecting the instrument. The question is, is it enough protection from a cat? The lid would stay on full stick to keep the cat from lying on it.